Farewell to our lioness Abaja

Animal news | 14 November 2025

The birth of lioness Abaja and her brother Damien in 2012 was a surprise – in two respects. Firstly, the lion pair Layla and Jago were almost no longer expected to breed successfully at that point in time, and secondly, the two siblings were born three days apart, which is rare. Since then, Abaja was never seriously ill. She was known and loved by zoo visitors and keepers alike for her cheeky, playful and friendly nature.

However, this changed noticeably a good three weeks ago. What began as a lack of appetite developed into increasing exhaustion, shortness of breath, isolation from the pride and depression. An extensive examination under anaesthetic by the zoo vets indicated that she was very probably suffering from advanced heart disease. Similar to many domestic cats, Abaja may have “hidden” the earlier stages of the disease for a long time without showing symptoms. When clear clinical signs do eventually appear, medication can usually do little to help, and there is a risk of serious complications. Drug treatment was nevertheless started for Abaja in the hope that this would at least stabilise her condition. However, her general state of health continued to deteriorate, making it almost impossible to administer her medication correctly.

Due to her symptoms, her very poor prognosis and the very limited treatment options for a patient who refuses all food, it was with a heavy heart that we made the decision to have her put down. The pathological examination will hopefully give us more insights into the exact cause of the disease.

Abaja’s serious illness was completely unexpected for us – at 13 years old, the lioness had not yet reached an advanced age. This makes her sudden departure all the more difficult for the zoo team. Our lion pride now consists only of Layla (20 yrs.) and her son Damien (13 yrs.). Damien is often mistaken for a very large female lion due to his receding mane, which is the result of him having been castrated at a young age.